Paola Fendi Wore Dresses Designed by Kim Jones and Pierpaolo Piccioli During Her Wedding Weekend in Ibiza

Paola Eulalia Saracino Fendi’s mother always said that she would meet a nice boy at the library or in the church. “Mothers are always right,” Paola said. “Aram [Warya Ahmed] and I met very close friends at a church — at Gremio de Brixton, by chance, a bar beneath St. Matthew. I knew he liked me when he agreed to dance with Beyoncé with me when no one else was dancing. I had just moved to London, so I was amazed at his great British accent. “

The two got engaged in Greece in August 2016, during a trip to various European destinations as Paola prepared to move back to New York after seven years in London. “Aram told me later that he planned to propose to every place we visited that summer, but it all went up in the air when one day on our first trip, I asked him when he would come with me to New York. He had the ring in his pocket, and he thought the best answer to my question was to just walk out and say, ‘let’s be together forever’ – so he got down on one knee and proposed. . I was so shocked that I couldn’t even hear him. He had to repeat the whole thing! “

Wedding planning started in 2019, but with the world shutting down due to COVID-19, Paola and Aram were forced to spend most of 2020 and 2021 living in different countries. He still works in London, she is in New York, and they are an ocean apart, unable to visit each other. “There’s so much uncertainty with everything going on that it’s hard to plan. Aram is my rock because I often feel like maybe we should cancel. I rely a lot on my family, my friends — many of whom are in similar situations — and my hero Spain wedding planner Paola Sofia. She is our eyes, ears and mouth… consider the locations in Ibiza– where we want to get married – taste the cake and check everything. There was a lot of FaceTiming, but it was all in her hands because neither Aram nor I could be there.”

The couple’s wedding date is always set for June 18, 2021. “When we got engaged, a lot of changes happened, I am starting a new role at Christie’s, just moved to New York, and I and Aram intended Paola to say. “I feel a bit overwhelmed when planning a wedding because I want to make sure I can give it the right amount of attention, so I know I want to wait until 2021. Who knows that one? pandemic will happen then? My heart goes out to all the couples affected as it has been a truly stressful experience. But one of my best friends had a beautiful ceremony earlier this year in Bali broadcast live on Zoom, and when Aram and I saw how happy they were together, we knew. that we have to keep our promise no matter what. “

Planning a wedding is never easy, but doing it from another country during a pandemic poses a specific set of challenges. “The biggest last-minute change was that we really wanted to have the celebration at my grandmother’s house in Ibiza, but unfortunately private events weren’t allowed,” recalls Paola. “Two weeks before the wedding, we decided to move the welcome party to Las Dos Lunas. The owners are old friends of my parents who have known me since I was little and really helped create the atmosphere I wanted that evening. “

Paola de Herrera Soriano from A-tipica arrange everything. The bride said: “She, my grandmother and I all have the same name. “Aram has called us the Holy Trinity of Paola!” Toni Riera, event planner in Ibiza, is a local planner and helped organize everything at the church including flowers, beautiful orange trees, traditional 17th century music and dance performances. out after the ceremony.

Coming from a family of fashion, it’s no surprise that organizing a weekend wedding wardrobe is a bride’s favorite part of the planning process. “I thought a lot about this because I was the first in our generation to get married,” says Paola. “I want my family to be a part of this journey.”

Her grandmother, Paola Fendi, was an important part of this process. “She is my role model, and I wanted to wear something that still felt very me, and made me feel comfortable, but also a tribute to her legacy and our family, The bride talks about her guiding principles for the day’s dress.

Paola said: “It was very difficult when my friend Kim Jones joined Fendi at the end of 2020 and was preparing for her first couture collection. “I’m so glad he’s part of our Fendi family now, so it’s a pleasure to work with my aunt Silvia Venturini Fendi and him in a dress. I knew I didn’t want a traditional white dress for the first evening and when Kim suggested a gorgeous blue dress from his Spring/Summer 2021 Haute Couture collection, it was perfection.” The murano floral embroidered dress reminded Paola of her grandmother’s garden, and she added a theme with jasmine flowers in her hair. “The whole design process was a special experience as it was Kim’s first collection of womenswear as well as his first wedding dress,” she added. “Now it’s part of history for both of us.”

Paola also wants to relive her grandmother’s time as a designer. “She has been in fashion for over 50 years — since she was 14 — and collaborates with many young designers at Fendi… one of them is Pierpaolo Piccioli.”

Because of their long relationship, Paola’s grandmother asked Pierpaolo if he would be willing to create a wedding dress. Paola said: “Pierpaolo was very emotional when he met my grandmother and showed her what he was doing. “I would love to hear their stories about the tailor. He said that he has always respected and admired my grandmother because she knew him when he was just a kid and now let her treat him like a man… that’s touching, and My grandmother is very proud of him. He knew me when I was little and used to visit my grandmother at work, and when he saw me now, grown up, he knew right away what he had to do.”

Inspired by the Italian Renaissance, specifically by Leonardo Da Vinci Lady with an Ermine, Pierpaolo created a different neckline pattern and a rectangular Renaissance neckline. “I was able to go to Rome to see him a few weeks before the wedding, and we danced to Diana Ross’s ‘I’m Coming Out’ at Maison Valentino with all the seamstresses,” recalls Paola. “He wanted to make sure the dress made me feel comfortable in my own skin. He said there’s nothing more beautiful than a confident bride.”

For something old-fashioned, Paola wears her great-grandmother’s pearl earrings along with an antique diamond clip — the same one her mother wore to her wedding. “My blue stuff is the blue buckles on the Manolo Blahniks and a very small navy blue bow that Pierpaolo sewed into my dress,” says Paola. What she borrowed was a vintage white beaded Fendi bag from her mother. Eva Villar did Paola’s hair and makeup using Dior Beauty and put flowers from the garden in her hair both evenings so the bride always had a home.

Paola and Aram learned early in the planning process that they wanted to get married at Ibiza Cathedral, a 14th-century church built in Catalan Gothic style dedicated to the Virgin, Our Lady of the Snows. The church is located at the highest point of the main city of Ibiza atop the old town of Dalt Vila.

Guests have flown in from various parts of Europe and the United States, and many have experienced Ibiza for the first time. To that end, Paola and Aram felt it was important to truly celebrate the island they love and bring special traditions into the unique ritual of the region. “My father and I went down the aisle to beat the drums and the choir sang ‘Seguramente esta tarde se case mi niña ‘ (Definitely my girl will get married this afternoon),” said Paola. “The most special surprise was when our family friend Toni Riera brought a traditional music group payesas ibicencas Throw fresh mint sprigs on the floor as we begin our new married life. We sang the ‘Salve Rociera de Olé Olé’ especially for the Virgin, Our Lady of the Snows and the guitarists playing Sevillana (flamenco music for Sevilla) as we came out of the church. “

Loss of payment ibicencas were waiting in the square, and when the newlyweds arrived, they began a special 17th-century traditional dance called bal payes. Finally, they asked the couple to join in.

Then, everyone went to Atzaro, a 300-year-old village that is now a hotel in Ibiza, for a wedding reception. A Spanish guitar greets guests as they enter cocktail hour, where croquetas and jamon iberico are served. The group then moved to the orange tree garden, where violinists in white robes played by the pool.

The band then began playing a special mix of “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore, and Paola and Aram took to the stage. “It was a wild entrance and very Ibiza,” Paola said. “I remember looking at Aram like that, What is happening? He just smiled, took my hand and made us dance to the beat. We hadn’t even started dinner yet, but the party had definitely begun — all the guests were waving napkins from their seats. “

The pair danced for the first time to Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers in the Night” and did the dance move (thanks to lessons with former NYCB soloist Tom Gold, who helped them choreograph the moves. mine). “We were impressed when we recalled the steps because we couldn’t practice much while living apart,” says Paola. Henri Bergmann, the bride’s friend, played the DJ for the rest of the night as the waiters swirled around mugs of tequila. “I look back on it all now and can’t help but smile,” Paola said. “I am so happy to be experiencing this day with my family and friends. I was shocked and scared because it actually happened — maybe because I was still in the clouds, and it all felt like a dream.”